Up Front- Captain Obvious

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Created: 09.04.2015

Shannon Newton President, ATA

The fact that America’s infrastructure is crumbling is not in dispute. The hard part? Finding the will to pay more for it.

It’s no surprise. There are few things more contentious in politics and in our national discourse than taxes. States all across the country, and elected representatives in Washington DC are grappling with how to generate enough revenue to support not only current spending but the higher levels needed to make improvements to the system.

Our nation’s roads and bridges are funded by fuel tax—a fuel tax that hasn’t been adjusted to keep pace with inflation in decades. As receipts dwindle due to increased fuel efficiency, there is palpable pressure to find new, viable road funding mechanisms.

The Last Word

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Created: 09.04.2015

Catching the Spirit

By Butch RiceGuest Writer

When I woke up Saturday morning, June 13 in Rogers, Ark., I didn’t know what to expect. For the first time, I was at the John Q. Hammons Center for the Arkansas Truck Driving Championship. Some six hundred in attendance, including drivers, volunteers and supporters from all over the state showed up for an exciting weekend of competition.

As I walked around that morning, I felt like I was at a Razorback football game. Decorated tents lined the perimeter of the course where fans from each company’s driving team had set up banners, signs, pom-poms and all the evidence of team spirit. The drivers were dressed in their company colors, while anticipation ran through them as they walked the course for the first and last time before they competed.

Up Front- Bridge to Broke

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Created: 06.19.2015

Shannon Newton President, ATA

If you are one of the Northern Virginia to Washington D.C. commuters (members of Congress excepted) affected by the recent and widely publicized Memorial Bridge lane closures, know that I feel your pain.

It is fitting that the most recent example of failed transportation funding efforts is a highly-travelled bridge in our nation’s capital’s backyard. The emergency repairs for the Memorial Bridge serve as a symbolic and timely rallying cry for Congressional action.

With the bridge as their backdrop, Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, called for long-term congressional investment in transportation infrastructure. "There is nothing more emblematic of Congress’ failure to invest in our nation’s infrastructure than the bridge that brings people into our nation’s capital, a national memorial, falling apart,” Beyer stated.

The Last Word

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Created: 06.19.2015

Technology Gains and Losses

By Paul Enos, CEO of Nevada Trucking Association

I couldn't make it to Las Vegas on May 6, when Daimler Trucks tested their autonomous driving software on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I sent our Member Relations Director Kim Yaeger to the press conference and demonstration.

While she was in Las Vegas, I was at a board meeting of the Hays Truck Museum, currently in a warehouse while money is raised for a new museum wing. We were looking at trucks ranging from a 1903 Knox to a 1979 cab over Ford.